The Kansas Department of Health Policy and Management is continuing its 30th Anniversary celebration. Jo Stueve, a 2002 graduate and Executive Vice President of Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, will be the graduation speaker. She will be welcomed to the stage by a 2005 alumnus, Glendon Cox, MD, MHSA, MBA. Dr. Cox is Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at the University of Kansas Medical Center, a Professor in the Departments of Radiology and Health Policy and Management, and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management.
Earlier in the year the Program organized “Integrating Care for Patients,” a well-attended Alumni Weekend Panel. The panelists were Pat Patton, MHSA(1998), FACHE, CMPE, Chief Operating Officer of Mercy Clinic in Oklahoma; Nicole King-Whitlow, MS, MHSA(2011), Program Director of the Health Care Innovation Award, TransforMED; and Blake Williamson, MD, MS, the former Medical Director of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. Robert Bonney, JD, MBA, FACHE, Senior Vice President, Saint Luke’s Health System and a Professor in the Program, moderated the Panel. After the Panel the Program hosted a reception in honor of Dr. Raymond Davis, the Founding Chair of the Department.
In belated news, October was a good month for Nicolas Tejada, a 2007 alumnus. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Doctors Hospital of Manteca, California and was named President of the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives.
Two new faculty members joined the Program this year. Tami Gurley-Calvez, PhD, and Jarron Saint-Onge, PhD. Dr. Gurley-Calvez is an economist who previously held positions at the University of West Virginia and the Government Accountability Office. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship and insurance design. Dr. Saint-Onge is a sociologist and demographer with a joint appointment in the Department of Sociology. He previously held positions in the Center for Drug and Social Policy Research and the Department of Sociology at the University of Houston.